


Is It Fair, Or Is It Fate?

by brooklynbis



Series: Harry's Adventures With 'The Pissing Evil'. [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Chronic Illness, Diabetes, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Hurt/Comfort, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, No Smut, Protective!Louis, Protective!Niall, Sick Fic, Supportive Boyfriend Louis, Supportive Louis Tomlinson, Touring, diabetes is a bitch, diabetic harry, diabetic!harry, diabetic!harry au, hypoglycaemia, larry - Freeform, protective!liam, type one diabetes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 05:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17177030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brooklynbis/pseuds/brooklynbis
Summary: In all of his time of having known the boys, Harry had always had his diabetes fairly under control. In the five years of being in the band, they had seen pretty much everything, Louis more than most. They'd seen him have highs that made him giddy, tired, mad and everything in between. They had seen lows that saw him get giddy, giggly, shaky and everything in between. They had spent several nights with him when everything became too overwhelming, they helped him when he adopted the 'fuck it all' attitude (which was fairly frequently) and they had dealt with the many, many occasions that he continued with a show despite not feeling well. In his eyes, they'd seen pretty much everything.Except this.__________________________AKA Harry is stubborn and won't admit he's gone low until he literally passes out on stage.





	Is It Fair, Or Is It Fate?

**Author's Note:**

> can link to 'A Beacon On The Bay', but it is not essential to read that to understand this. 
> 
> again, this is mainly based off my own experience here (very heavily in fact). all systems used will be british as I'm from the UK, hopefully that doesn't get too confusing for anyone. I essentially love pushing my own feelings and situations onto characters since I cannot get this comfort irl lmao.  
> trigger warnings : mentions of blood tests  
> title from 'The Other Side' by Ruelle  
> comments, feedback and kudos would be appreciated if you enjoyed, plus any prompts which you can leave in the comments or in my tumblr ask box @/brooklynbis

*2015*

In all of his time of having known the boys, Harry had always had his diabetes fairly under control. Of course, he never imagined he could've kept it a secret for a while. It wasn't exactly a subtle illness at the best of times, and after a few meals with the boys he had to explain it to the four of them, just to make his life easier. 

It never had backfired on him, not that he expected it to. He knew from the moment he met the three boys he would consider to be brothers (and Louis) they were the loveliest guys he had ever met. 

In the five years of being in the band, they had seen pretty much everything, Louis more than most. They'd seen him have highs that made him giddy, tired, mad and everything in between. They had seen lows that saw him get giddy, giggly, shaky and everything in between. They had spent several nights with him when everything became too overwhelming, they helped him when he adopted the 'fuck it all' attitude (which was fairly frequently) and they had dealt with the many, many occasions that he continued with a show despite not feeling well. In his eyes, they'd seen pretty much everything. 

"Haz, the shower's free," Louis called from the bathroom they had attached to their hotel room. 

"Thanks," He said as Louis entered the room, smiling as he walked over to his boyfriend who was still lying in their shared bed. 

"You should really get up, we need to go soon," Louis told him as he sat down on the bed, as Harry looked up from his phone with a smile, despite his tiredness. 

"Really? Can't we just skip today?" He whined, making Louis chuckle as he ruffled Harry's curls softly. 

"Nope, we've got a show tonight and a lot of interviews first," Louis sighed, as Harry groaned and slowly got out of the bed, padding off to the bathroom. 

Once he had shut the door, he didn't take long to get himself ready for the day. He quickly washed his hair and put on some fresh clothes, attempting to run a brush through his curls before giving up. 

"Here, you probably need this," Louis said as he walked into the bathroom and handed him his testing bag, making him sigh as Louis placed it on the counter in front of him. 

"Thanks I guess," He said, rolling up his shirt sleeve in preparation to give his injections. 

__________________________

"London, how are we doing tonight?" Harry asked the arena, as he took a sip from his water bottle to try and steady himself. Through careful monitoring, he had managed to avoid telling the fans about his diabetes, but he was determined not to mess that up now. He had tested before the concert and had drunk some cola to try and stop himself dipping in the middle of the show. 

He was getting the feeling that it wasn't working, but he couldn't stop the concert. 

"This one was one we wrote for the latest album, called Drag Me Down," Louis introduced as the music started and Harry ran a hand through his hair to stop it getting in his face as he started singing. 

Throughout the song, he kept moving around the stage to try and dance off the jitters he was feeling, but by the end of the song, he just felt worse. When they finished the song, he stood still for a moment, closing his eyes to try and focus himself. 

"Harry, you alright?" Liam asked when he got close enough as Harry nodded slowly before opening his eyes, seeing Niall and Louis talking to the audience before the next song. They hadn't noticed how bad Harry was feeling. 

"Did you want to sit down a minute?" he asked as Harry shook his head again quickly, as the two boys introduced the next song and Liam had no choice but to leave it. 

He continued singing for a few songs, ignoring the bad feeling he had as he shook wherever he stood. By the fifth song after Liam had spoken to him, Harry slowed to a stop, his legs feeling like jelly and if he moved another step, he was convinced his legs would give out from under him. 

"Haz?" he heard somewhere from the stage, as he opened his eyes again and saw Louis stood in front of him with a concerned expression. 

"'m fine," He mumbled, pressing a hand against his forehead to try and cool down. 

"You don't look fine. Did you want to take a moment?" Louis said as he moved closer so Harry could hear him better. Despite that, Harry still wasn't processing what Louis was saying to him, but he shook his head anyway. 

He decided he needed water but his water bottle was sat by his microphone stand. He took a couple of steps unsteadily before gripping his head. 

Louis watched that moment as if it were happening in slow motion. He watched Harry take a few steps, before gripping his head. He watched his legs slowly give out from under him as he began to fall to the ground. Without hesitation, he dashed forwards and thankfully caught Harry just about, panicking slightly as the other two came running towards them as Harry mumbled to himself from the floor of the stage. The screams of the fans echoed around the arena as Louis didn't waste time in handing his mic to Niall and hauling Harry from the floor of the stage to his arms, quickly carrying him bridal style off the stage. 

"Lou..?" He murmured as he loosely flung his arms around Louis' neck as he slowed down his pace a bit once they were out of the cameras. 

"Yeah love, it's me," He replied softly, as members of the crew looked at him in confusion as he set Harry down gently on one of the sofas backstage. 

"Noo, don't leave," He whined, weakly lifting his arms in Louis' direction as he begun to move away. 

"I'm not going anywhere Haz, it's alright," Louis reassured him as he knelt down beside the sofa. "Can someone get me his testing stuff please? Should be in the dressing room," Louis called without taking his eyes off of his boyfriend. 

"Is he alright?" Liam asked as him and Niall rushed backstage. 

"'m not well," Harry mumbled with his eyes closed as Louis ran a hand through his soft hair. 

"You should've told us, my love. Terry's gone to get your stuff and then we'll fix you right up, yeah?" 

"Wanna cuddle," He murmured in response, stretching his arms out without opening his eyes as Louis sighed with a fond smile. He helped Harry sit up before carefully sitting down on the sofa next to him, letting Harry curl up whichever way made him feel a bit better. 

Apparently that way was straight across Louis' lap, head rested on one side of his chest, arms wrapped loosely around his middle with his long legs overflowing to the other end of the sofa as Louis smiled, pressing a kiss to Harry's slightly damp forehead. 

"Where the hell is Terry? This is kinda important," Louis asked in frustration as he felt Harry shaking in his lap with his eyes closed. 

"I don't know, mate. What else do you need?" Niall asked as Louis sighed, never stopping rubbing his warm hand up and down harry's arm soothingly. 

"Uhh, some cola and a straw? As soon as I've tested him, I'll know if it's a high or a low, but until then," Louis said as Niall nodded and left in search of the sugary drink for Harry. 

"I'm gonna go let the fans know what the delay is. What do you want me to say to them?" Liam asked as he watched Louis quietly reassure his boyfriend. 

"Uh, whatever. Just don't mention the diabetes, just say he's fallen ill or something and we'll let them know if we're continuing the show. I don't want to, but you know what he's like. Stubborn as hell," Louis tried to joke as Liam nodded and patted Louis' shoulder before leaving the two boys on their own. 

"Lou," Harry mumbled quietly from where his face was positioned tucked into Louis' neck. 

"I know honey, it's alright. We're going to fix you right up," Louis promised, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Harry's head as Terry came walking into the room calmly with his testing kit. 

"About time Terry," Louis sighed as Terry dropped it carelessly onto Harry's legs, making him whimper slightly. He had always been over sensitive when his bloods weren't right. 

"Shh, it's alright love. We're almost there now," Louis said as he grabbed the kit and began to set it up on Harry's legs whilst his murmurs became incoherent. That was never a good sign. 

"Love, I need your finger," Louis said gently, as he tried to unwrap one of Harry's arms from where it was tightly wound around his neck. 

"Noo," Louis made out as he clung on tighter, and Louis knew that he was the only thing that Harry felt was anchoring him to reality. He had spoken about it plenty of times before, when his blood sugars hadn't been majorly fucked up. 

It was at that moment that Liam re-entered the room, causing Louis to let out a small sigh of relief. 

"Hey Liam, you know how to do his blood tests right?" Louis asked as Liam nodded, sitting down on the sofa where Harry's legs weren't occupying the space. 

"Yeah, why?" 

"Can you finish it off for me? He won't let go of me, and it's pointless trying to move him right now," Louis asked as Liam nodded, quickly taking the finger pricker from Louis and pricking Harry's finger from where it was clutched around Louis' neck. 

"It's okay baby, you're doing so well," Louis whispered to him when he made a small noise at having his finger jabbed with the tiny needle. 

"He's 1.7," Liam said when the machine beeped, making Louis swear under his breath as Niall came jogging back into the room with a straw and a bottle of cola, as requested. 

"Thank you," he said as he carefully moved his arms to undo the bottle and put the straw into it before carefully rubbing Harry's arm to get his attention. 

"Can you drink this for me love?" Louis asked when he opened his eyes slightly as he sighed and moved slightly, unwrapping one of his arms to try and grip the bottle. 

"It's alright, I've got it. Just drink babes," Louis said, holding the bottle again as Harry almost dropped it. 

They fell into silence for a couple of minutes as Harry slowly relaxed back against Louis' chest, slowly drinking the fizzy drink. His eyes had closed again, but Louis didn't care if he was still drinking and awake. 

"Is he going to be alright?" Niall asked, making Louis turn his head from where he was watching Harry. 

"Should be, he'll just need some time. There's no way he'll be able to continue the show, not from being that low." Louis informed them, carefully brushing some hair out of Harry's face so he didn't have to do it himself. 

"I'll let the fans know that he isn't well enough to continue the show." Niall decided, getting up from the floor he had chosen to sit on. 

"I'm gonna go with him, if you'll be alright here for a minute?" Liam asked for confirmation as Louis nodded. 

"Well, I don't think either of us will be going very far for a minute," Louis joked with a smile, making the two boys smile in return before leaving the room again. 

He zoned out for a minute before feeling some pressure on the plastic bottle. When he looked down, he saw Harry pushing it away, and he decided he had probably had enough for a minute as half the bottle was gone. 

"Well done," Louis whispered against his hair, putting the bottle down on the table beside him. He knew that silly little encouragements were what Harry needed to hear right now. They sat in silence for a while longer as Harry didn't have the energy to talk, so the only noises in the room were the faint screams of the fans and Louis' occasional comments to Harry. 

It took a while, but eventually Harry started coming back to himself. 

"I don't feel very well," he mumbled quietly after a while, causing Louis to let out a sigh. 

"I know love, you dipped really low. You scared me," he admitted. 

"I'm sorry," Harry just said in response, not making any effort to move from the comfortable position in Louis' lap. "I know it's annoying for you to deal with, especially when I'm all clingy and everything else-" 

"Haz, stop apologising. You have nothing to apologise for. You'll never be annoying to me, I want to take care of you love," Louis cut him off. 

"Okay," Harry whispered as Louis quietly tested him again without saying a word. 

"You're still low honey, so can you drink some more for me please?" Louis asked as Harry sighed, taking the bottle for himself this time and slowly beginning to drink again. 

"I hate this," he whispered after he finished the drink, and when Louis looked at him, he had tears in his eyes. 

"Oh, I know babes. But we'll get through it, we always do. You and me, yeah?" Louis promised as Harry let his tears spill from the sheer overwhelmingness of his illness flooding over him once again. 

"It's okay, I've got you. We're going to be alright, it's fine," Louis soothed quietly as he pulled Harry in for a hug as he buried his head into Louis' shoulder, sobbing quietly. Louis saw Liam peeking in through the crack of the door and Louis just shook his head. Liam took the hint and he and Niall disappeared again. 

"It's just hard," Harry sobbed as Louis' heart ached for his fiancé, knowing he could do nothing to help him but to hold him. 

"I know, and you're so incredibly strong for dealing with it on a daily basis."

"It never stops. E-Even at night, it disrupts my s-sleep and I'm just so t-tired," He cried, choking on his words as he tried to express his feelings. Louis genuinely didn't know what to say to him. 

"It's exhausting, huh? We'll look at adjusting your basal later so it stops disturbing your sleep but you'll always have me, and I'll always be here to help you in every way I can," Louis consoled him. 

"Thank you," He replied quietly, lying in Louis' lap for a few more minutes before moving his head from where it was tucked in the crook of Louis' neck. 

"Can we go back to the hotel?" He asked as Louis nodded, grabbing Harry's hand once they were both stood up. 

"M' legs don't feel good," Harry mumbled as Louis sighed, wrapping his arm around Harry's waist to support him as Harry leant into his side. 

It was at that moment that Liam and Niall entered again to collect their things. 

"Could one of you do me a favour and take his other side? I don't wanna hurt him by attempting to lift him again," Louis asked as Liam nodded, quickly recreating Louis' position on Harry's other side, Harry's body almost limp between them. 

"Where are we headed?" Liam asked as they began to move out of the room, Niall following behind them with all of their belongings. 

"The car and then the hotel," Louis replied as they moved down the hallways and towards privacy again. 

____________________________

"You never told me that the fans saw me collapse," Harry broke the silence from where he was sat on the bed, scrolling through his phone. 

"What was that, love?" Louis asked, popping his head around the door from the bathroom. 

"The fans know," he said simply, not looking up from his phone screen. Louis just sighed, flicking the switch to turn off the bathroom light before crossing the room and sitting next to Harry. 

"Not necessarily. They saw you collapse, but you could just tell them it was due to exhaustion, or dehydration, or whatever," Louis reassured him, taking his free hand in his own. Harry didn't speak for a while before locking his phone and looking at Louis. 

"I think I want to tell them," He decided, as Louis nodded. 

"If that's what you want, my love. It's not going to change their opinion of you, and if it does, they weren't true fans in the first place," Louis reminded him as Harry nodded, lying back on the bed as he began to think of ways to tell them. 

"I don't just want to send a tweet."

And so, that was how he and the band undertook the small project that Harry released on the band's youtube channel on the 28th of September. A video, documenting the problems Harry faced on a daily basis. Scattered in amongst the diabetic clips, were regular clips of him and the boys going about their regular lives, having a laugh. At the end, was a link to the Diabetes UK website. 

His diabetes would not define him - as an artist or as a person.


End file.
